The hummus stood out more than the other dishes. Very creamy and delicious with interesting flavors for “hummus of the day” Gave service 3 stars because of how fast food came out, felt rushed entire meal

The good was poorly prepared, overly salty and otherwise flavorless. The alcoholic beverage was interesting and small.

Waited 20 minutes for a table after arriving for our reservation on time. Both the bar and lounge were full but after a few minutes we were able to get a seat to wait. They gave us wine and the rest of the service was impeccable for the rest of the evening.

Very good food. We enjoyed the eggplant starter and really recommend the fish entree which changes often. Dining room a bit small and poor layout.

Went to Sababa for the first time last weekend. We were celebrating a birthday. Although we had a reservation, the restaurant was hopping and we were not seated for 50 minutes. The owner and staff were very apologetic for the wait and offered us wine/cocktails while we waited. We also put in our order so that we wouldn't have to wait long once seated. When we were seated, the service was terrific and the food was outstanding. We are frequent travelers to Israel so are very familiar with the cuisine. The menu choices are authentic yet very creative. And everything we had was terrific. At meal's end, the waiter came by to offer us complementary deserts on behalf of the management, again as a way to apologize for our long wait. All in all, we highly enjoyed our experience at Sababa and definitely will be going back soon.

The food was very good and the atmosphere upscale cool. The eggplant and hummus were fabulous.

Great interpretation of modern Israeli food! Lots of tasty vegetarian option, fluffy zaatar pitas and a comfortable yet upscale atmosphere. Well done!

My grandson and I love good food and we eat out often together.....Sababa was terrific......we shared five dishes.........four of them were outstanding.....we especially liked the 5 salad combo and the hummus ........can hardly wait to go back.

The service was unbearably slow. 35 minutes for our drinks to be delivered to our table, and 50 minutes for roasted chicken to be served. This was well after our other two guests had long since finished their meals. The price for additional pita bread is just ridiculous.

Some food was not cooked enough. One item In our order was forgotten. It was not hot when brought to the table, long after all the other food had been eaten. We were not charged for the item.

This is not Israeli food at all. Nothing approached authentic Israeli food. It was sort of Mediterranean. They put mango in the Israeli salad. Overwhelmed the Zhug with ridiculously hot roasted chili’s marinated all the kabobs in yogurt an Indian not Israeli approach and the humus was very middle of the road.

This restaurant serves new Israeli food with nods to Egypt. Having visited both countries in the somewhat distant past, I had not been impressed with their cuisines. Sababa has totally changed my views. The "new" cuisine is similar to the traditional but really delicious. How to describe it? I am not sure I can except to say that all the dishes tried so far are light and fresh tasting while not being simple minded.

Pros-Very tasty food, lots of options; pleasant and helpful service; pretty decor
Cons-Hard chairs, no rugs, slippery floors, noisy noisy noisy

Whereas Ardeo was one of our go-to local restaurants (where we went for special occasions as well as good food, relaxing, pleasant dinners for two), Sababa is not.

I was under impressed, especially when this restaurant is in the same family of restaurants as Rasika. A good selection of vegetarian dishes but the restaurant charges for pita bread! $2 per pita, really? This restaurant is similar in price to Zaytinya but doesn't hold a candle to their quality.

We really like this new idea! The food was very good but the service was spotty. We asked and found out that they were down one server ... and you could tell. We will definitely go back, suggest it to others and look forward to trying some of the dishes we missed this first time.

After a reservation we had to wait for 30 minutes for a table. We would have waited longer if we had not protested. The staff also argued with us instead of apologizing after 15 minutes and offering us a free cocktail (as recommended by Tom Sistema of the Washington Post). They should have done what they did at the end, show us the menu so that we could order at least.

Food was good. Waitress: okay. All the staff have attitude.

Ashok Bajaj should be careful as this mixed experience could alter my views of his other restaurants.

Salatim offerings should be slightly more generous. Chicken kabobs were boring. Eggplant was delicious. Lamb was very good but nothing particularly Israeli or Middle Eastern about it. Overall, food was good but experience felt a bit dumbed down for American palate.

Sababa is a re-imagining of the Ardeo space in Cleveland Park. The menu is Israeli-inspired, small plates with a selection of mains. Very creative cocktails. Food is flavorful and interesting.
Overall -- a welcome newcomer to the neighborhood.

Loved it. Wonderful and delicious offerings. Glad to get a table on a busy Saturday night.

Food was great and the service was outstanding.

Sat upstairs even though we asked to be seated down stairs. Host was rude telling us that all the tables were booked when I saw 6 empty tables. I saw a white family brought up by a different manager rejecting their table and being taken to a table down stairs. Food is okay nothing special. Many better Mediterranean restaurants in dc! Expecting much more from this group of restaurants. Save your money go elsewhere!

What a fabulous meal! We had the charred eggplant, hummus, pita, beef and chicken kebobs. Everything was wonderful and the service was great.

Sababa is a good addition to the Cleveland Park restaurant scene. It is transformed space from the former Ardeo. It's small plate menu is good for sharing. The restaurant is lively, the atmosphere is appealing, the food is interesting and tasty.

1st visit for my partner & I since opening. We were regulars at Ardeo Bardeo (live in the hood, etc ). Overall a lovely dining experience w/ a lot of the same workers which was nice to see. Cool redesign with good personality. The food was just ok for us given other dining options in DC. Small plates are a theme but the portion size is lacking a bit, particularly the Kababs (literally 4 bite sized pieces of steak for $14). Our cocktails were also not impressive, unfortunately. Ordered the Halva World Away and the cocktail was way too medicinal and thick. Our waitress, who happened to be a former mixologist for Ardeo, makes much better cocktails! We'll give it another few months & might visit again, but we won't be in a hurry to make a reservation any time soon. We support our neighborhood stores, bars & restaurants regularly. Bummer...

The food was excellent and service was very attentive, despite that they were obviously very busy. If you love spice, highly recommend the "not for the faint of heart" chili plate as an accompaniment to whatever else you order - but be warned, you will need some bread and an alcoholic beverage ready to cool your mouth, because copious amounts of water will not do the trick.

Loved the small plates!

Overall a delightful experience. All of our food choices presented a wonderful array of unique flavors. Portions on the small size for the price but they pack a mighty punch and makes it all worth it. Service was great - maybe even too efficient as they wanted to take plates away before we had a second chance to sop up every last bit of sauce remaining on the plate. Will definitely go back!

Great new place with a new (to me) menu options from the Middle East. Knowledgeable and attentive service; will definitely go back.

Overall our experience was very good there was some highs
Eggplant , fried cauliflower, kabob and hummus all pretty authentic what you’ll get in Israel.

The lows Portion size of the salatim was an issue although tasty it was not nearly enough. Rice lentils dish with macaroni was weird combinations and for dessert the “knaffe” was a cold cupcake with soggy phyllo. Nothing like I’m used to back home.

Good start but can be better. Zahav in Philly is still my favorite

What a gem! The food is unbelievably good. The cauliflower is out of this world, as is hummus and pita and eggplant and halumi... the list goes on. So good. And the staff is very friendly and helpful.

Had great food and drink! I highly recommend the Halva World Away cocktail, the Kushari, and the chocolate pot de creme.

DELICIOUS, HIP AND WELCOMING!
Love Sababa, the new Knightsbridge restaurant group's Israeli addition to Cleveland Park. Upper NW really needs this breadth of mouthwatering freshness! Warm and cozy welcome, very fun and healthy non-alcoholic juices and drinks, interesting and regionally authentic wines by the glass. Food is delicious, interesting, veggie friendly. Just love the Salatim starter option- so appropriate to be able to simply order the array of snacks that go perfectly with drinks, are very colorful, healthy and tasty. Hummus of the day is delicious and different. Plates small or table-sized are perfect for sharing, au courant, healthy and delicious. Adored the eggplant and halloumi dishes. Valet Parking is very helpful.
A winner!

Food was good especially the hummus but they need to be less stingy with the pita. One small pita is not enough bread. The back sea bass was also delicious. Service was extremely erratic and the decor is unimpressive, a little too Pier 1.

Delicious food, amazing cocktails, and superior service. Absolutely five star evening. Can’t wait to go back

Definitely unique for DC. Lots of excellent middle eastern seasonings, loved the cauliflower, halloumi, market catch, and steak kebabs.

We really enjoyed Sababa. The food was excellent and our server was very attentive and helpful. They have made the space attractive and much different from when it was Ardeo.

Creative. Spicy. Some unusual combinations. Delicious chicken livers. interesting felafel. Wonderful Pot de creme. refreshing winter salad.

Great place, great service, we loved everything we tried!

Really enjoyed this great take on Israeli cuisine. Food was Gorisit

A welcomed new restaurant serving authentic Israeli food and drinks. We will be back to try more of the menu and strongly recommend others to visit Sababa